


take a moment

by agentmaine



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 05:04:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8954749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentmaine/pseuds/agentmaine
Summary: Magnus and Angus take a moment to be safe, to be people, to talk and to remember the people they love and have lost.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ziphos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziphos/gifts).



> MORE FOUND FAMILY BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP  
> also because i love rhiannon (ziphos/@mhevet on twitter) a lot, they're found family trash, and this is something to do with a christmas present?

“Sir,” Angus asks in a curious and confused voice, verging on uncertainty. “Can I ask… Why did you bring me all the way down to, uh, the planet, if we’re just… sitting here?”

Magnus smiles to himself. He and Angus are sat on a hilltop in the early evening, warm rays of scattered yellow sunlight spreading across the ground and turning the surrounding trees into gold. The nearest village has turned ant-sized from their resting place, with thatched roofed houses blending into one another and torches lighting the streets appearing as though they’re small stars on the ground. It’s peaceful, with just the two of them. The only sounds are made by the breeze dancing through leaves of the trees and the distant chatter from people below.

“Sir?” Angus asks again. He looks around with a furrowed brow and Magnus has no doubt that he’s mentally making notes. Wondering if this is a test. Wondering if there’ll be danger. Wondering if there’s something here for him to solve.

Magnus rests a large, calloused hand on his shoulder and smiles at him softly. “Ango.”

“Yeah?” The boy looks up at him, blinking behind thick rimmed glasses, badly hidden anxiety showing on his face.

“I brought you here to relax.”

“…Relax?” He questions, as if he doesn’t know the meaning of the word. It hurts Magnus a little to think that, hell, maybe he doesn’t. Putting a ten year old into a job that people’s lives depend on is clearly going to put some pressure on the kid. Magnus makes a mental note to talk to Lucretia about giving him more support.

“Yeah, bud. Relax. You’re… dealing with a lot. And you’re a kid. You should be allowed time to yourself, y’know? So your head just… doesn’t goddamn explode, or whatever.” Magnus lets his hand drop from Angus’ shoulder and he flops back onto the soft bed of grass, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. After a moment’s hesitation, he hears Angus shuffle around slightly and shift to lay beside him.

“Oh. Thank you, Magnus. I want to be helpful. I like being helpful! But… Not working is nice, too.”

“Don’t mention it, kiddo.” Magnus smiles.

He’s happy here. The air is fresh, the nature surrounding him is real and there’s no immediate danger. He thinks of Julia. It hurts, a fading ache right in his heart, but it makes him smile all the same. She loved places like this. Moments like this, too. Moments where the sky looks like a painting as hues of orange, red and yellow mix together; when life and all its troubles seem to freeze until all remains is a little bubble of peace; when you can breathe and feel and take a moment to appreciate the fact that you’re living. Ever since he lost Julia, Magnus makes sure to take time to appreciate the fact that he’s living. For the both of them.

He feels a small hand tap his arm and opens his eyes to see Angus looking at him with a question on the tip of his tongue. As predicted, Angus’ curiosity overtakes his polite demeanour. “Magnus… Did you ever have children?”

“Oh.” The question stings, sharp at first and adding to the dull ache in his heart, but the question is so innocent and harmless that he resists the urge to brush the conversation aside. “No, I-… we didn’t. Julia and I. We, uh, we were going to. We were expecting when... when she died.”

Magnus swallows, words thick in his throat and a sigh escaping so heavily that it rattles in his chest. He sits up, scratching the back of his neck and trying to find the words to keep talking. Angus acts as a mirror and sits as he does before shuffling that bit closer, leaning into his side.

“I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have asked. Taako told me about Julia.” He mumbles, sounding guilty.

“No, no, don’t feel bad, kiddo. It just… Hurts, y’know?”

Magnus feels rather than sees Angus nods, and hears rather than sees the slight sadness on Angus’ face as he speaks. “You’d have been a good dad. I can tell. I barely remember my parents.”

“I’m sorry, kiddo.” Magnus puts his arm around Angus’ shoulder and smiles slightly as Angus rests his head against his chest. “For what it’s worth… All of us damn idiots love ya’. It may not always seem like it, but we do. Me, Merle, Taako… Even Kravitz. Don’t tell Taako I know about him, by the way. And… I am absolutely certain Julia would have loved you.”

Angus looks up at him, hazel eyes shining with returned happiness. “You think?”

“I _know._ ” Magnus chuckles and ruffles Angus’ red curls. “She had hair like yours. Ridiculously curly. She loved books – you two could have read to each other. She never knew when to quit, so I guess she could have helped you solve mysteries. Julia also happened to be a billion times smarter than me – which isn’t hard – but it’s something you’d have in common. Plus, she loved kids.”

“She sounds lovely, Magnus.” Angus smiles. “I’m sure she’s super, super proud of you.”

Magnus’ heart thuds harder than it should in his chest. It aches in a good way and feels warm and heavy, but right. “Yeah,” he says. He smiles and nods, reaffirming it to himself. “I’m sure she is too, buddy. I’m sure she’s proud of all of us.”

Silence settles over them comfortably as the colours above them change, painting the sky into a unique masterpiece on a moving canvas. The people in the village below carry on with their lives and in the distance, Magnus hears children giggling. The flowers on the hilltop sway together as the breeze moves them and fireflies hover nearby, much to Angus’ amazement.

Magnus closes his eyes again. He breathes. He feels. He takes a moment. He breathes out. He looks at Angus and then to the sky and thanks Julia silently for everything she was, everything she is, and everything she will be. Magnus isn’t scared of passing – he knows he’ll see Julia again then. But in this moment, with Angus at his side and Julia’s words in his mind, he takes time to thank Istus and all other deities that he’s still here.


End file.
